Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a)
Action required. The commissioner of education shall order:
(1) alternative management or closure of a
campus or appoint a board of managers to govern the district if the campus
turnaround plan is not approved as outlined in §
97.1064 of this title (relating to
Campus Turnaround Plan); and
(2)
closure of a campus or appoint a board of managers to govern the district if
the campus is assigned an unacceptable performance rating under the state
academic accountability system for three consecutive school years after the
campus is ordered to submit a campus turnaround plan as outlined in §
97.1064 of this title.
(b) Review. An action ordered
under subsection (a) of this section is subject to the applicable review
procedures provided in Chapter 157 of this title (relating to Hearings and
Appeals).
(c) Other actions
permitted. In combination with action under this section, the commissioner may
impose on the district or campus any other sanction under Texas Education Code
(TEC), Chapter 39 or 39A, or this subchapter, singly or in combination, to the
extent the commissioner determines is reasonably required to achieve the
purposes specified in §
97.1053 of this title (relating to
Purpose). In particular, the commissioner may assign a monitor, conservator,
management team, or board of managers in order to ensure and oversee
district-level support to low-performing campuses and the implementation of the
updated targeted improvement plan and the campus turnaround plan.
(d) Petition allowed. In accordance with TEC,
§
39A.112, for a campus
subject to an order of closure or appointment of a board of managers to govern
the district under subsection (a) of this section, if a written petition,
signed by the parents of a majority of the students enrolled at the campus and
specifying the action requested under subsection (a) of this section, is
presented to the commissioner in accordance with this section and related
procedures adopted by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), the commissioner shall,
except as otherwise authorized by this section, order the specific action
requested. If the board of trustees of the school district in which the campus
is located presents to the commissioner, in accordance with this section and
related procedures adopted by the TEA, a written request that the commissioner
order a specific action under subsection (a) of this section other than the
action requested by the parents in a valid petition, along with a written
explanation of the basis for the board's request, the commissioner may order
the action requested by the board of trustees.
(1) A written petition under this subsection
must be:
(A) finalized and submitted to the
district superintendent no later than October 15 for purposes of
validation;
(B) certified by the
superintendent as a valid petition in accordance with paragraph (2) of this
subsection; and
(C) if determined
to be a valid petition, submitted by the district superintendent to the
commissioner no later than December 1.
(2) Only a written petition determined to be
valid in accordance with this section and TEA procedures may be submitted to
the commissioner. At a minimum, the following criteria must be met for a
petition to be determined valid.
(A) The
petition must include all information required by the TEA as reflected in TEA
model forms and related procedures and must be submitted to the district
superintendent in accordance with the deadline established in paragraph (1)(A)
of this subsection.
(B) The
petition must clearly state the sanction action under subsection (a)(2) of this
section being requested by the parents.
(C) In accordance with this subparagraph, the
parent(s) of more than 50% of the students enrolled at the campus must provide
the handwritten or typed name and an original signature on the petition.
(i) For the purposes of the petition, a
parent means the parent who is indicated on the student registration form at
the campus.
(ii) A student will be
considered enrolled at the campus for the purposes of the petition if the
student is enrolled and in membership at the campus on a TEA-determined
enrollment snapshot date, as reflected in TEA procedures.
(iii) For the purposes of determining whether
parents of more than 50% of the students enrolled at the campus have signed the
petition, only one parent signature per enrolled student can be counted by the
district in its calculation assuring validity of the petition.
(iv) A signature is valid if the person
signed the petition on or after the date on which a preliminary rating
indicating four or more consecutive years of unacceptable performance at the
campus was issued.
(3) If the board of trustees of the school
district requests that the TEA consider a specific action under subsection (a)
of this section other than the action requested by the parents in a valid
petition and submitted to the TEA in accordance with this subsection, the board
must submit a written request to the commissioner and include a written
explanation of the basis for the board's request for an action other than the
one reflected in a valid parent petition. Any written request must be:
(A) approved by a majority of the board
members in an action taken in a public meeting conducted in compliance with the
Texas Open Meetings Act; and
(B)
submitted to the commissioner no later than December 15 in accordance with
procedures established by the TEA.
(4) If a valid parent petition under
paragraph (1) of this subsection or board of trustees submission under
paragraph (3) of this subsection requests that the commissioner order campus
closure, the district must submit, no later than January 30, a comprehensive
plan for campus closure that meets the requirements of the TEC, §
39A.113, and §
97.1066 of this title (relating to
Campus Closure).
(5) Following the
submission to the TEA of a valid petition and any subsequent board request
under this section, the commissioner will order, no later than February 15, a
sanction in compliance with the TEC, §
39A.111, and this
section. The sanction shall be implemented for the current year or, if
necessary, for the subsequent school year regardless of the state academic
accountability rating assigned to the campus in that school year.
(6) Notwithstanding this subsection, in the
case of a charter school granted under the TEC, Chapter 12, Subchapter D or E,
the commissioner shall retain authority under the TEC and Chapter 100,
Subchapter AA, Division 2, of this title (relating to Commissioner Action and
Intervention) to take any adverse action allowed by statute and rule and to
approve or disapprove any proposed change in campus or charter structure
resulting from a petition or board request under this subsection.
(e) Targeted technical assistance.
In addition to the grounds specified in TEC, §
39A.114, if the
commissioner determines that the basis for the unsatisfactory performance of a
campus for more than two consecutive school years is limited to a specific
condition that may be remedied with targeted technical assistance, the
commissioner may require the district to contract for the appropriate technical
assistance, including, but not limited to, the district's regional education
service center and/or an institution of higher education.
